Transportation for individuals with autism conference looks at access issues and life skills training

CAIT News Archive, April 2011

Mobility Is the Key to Independence

Imagine how small your world would be without the ability to get from point A to point B. Transportation can be a confusing and frightening option for individuals with developmental disabilities. Moreover, it is often just not available to them.

Legislators, transportation professionals, parents, advocates, and support services personnel for adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum came together for the first conference on “Transportation Options for Individuals with Autism” on April 20, 2011, at Rutgers Busch Campus Student Center. The event was organized and hosted by CAIT with support from University Transportation Research Center 2 (UTRC2), the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Rutgers Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center.

Transportation funding and planning, technologies, services, and perceptions within the field were discussed throughout the day in hopes of improving the chances for individuals with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome to become more self-sufficient and successfully transition to independent living and the workforce.

New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewksi and Assemblywoman Joan Voss provided opening remarks expressing their concern over the level of accommodation current transportation systems offer, stressing the importance of access, and offering their hopes for future collaboration and improvements.

Assemblywoman Voss, who is the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), shared some of her son’s experiences to illustrate the importance of understanding the challenges this population faces in both driving and navigating public transit.

“[These individuals] want to and can become capable members of society,” she said. Transportation professionals and life skills trainers are both in dire need of education regarding the mobility needs of the ASD population.

Assemblyman Wisniewksi, chair of the Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee, and Carolyn Fefferman, senior advisor for Senator Robert Menendez, both echoed Voss’ sentiments, calling for awareness and advocacy from both transportation and autism advocates.

Christopher Gagliardi (pictured at left), Special Needs Outreach Coordinator for Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and himself an adult with autism, shared stories of how he learned to use public transit as a younger man. Gagliardi’s presentation touched on how the prospect of navigating such complex and unknown tasks as getting the right bus, managing fares, and communicating with operators can be very frightening, not only for developmentally disabled, but also their worried parents. But, he said, with coping skills such as remaining calm and thinking things through, he was able to overcome his fears and began to see his trips as adventures. Gagliardi’s uplifting presentation was peppered with humor and drove home the point that with proper training, help, access, and understanding, people with ASD can get around independently. “It opened up my whole world,” he said.

Keynote speaker Mary Leary, Ph.D., senior director of the Easter Seals Project ACTION (pictured below, right), stated a sobering statistic: “There is a 40 percent difference in employment between people with and without disabilities.” She noted that lack of transportation was often reported as the primary reason for this discrepancy—partially because of the mobility’s complex nature, but also due to the scarcity of viable options.

“Transportation is a necessity… our vision at Easter Seals is: ‘everyone gets a ride when they need one,’” she said.

Collaboration was another major message as Leary urged the audience to seek out resources from one another, and to pool efforts to take advantage of local and federal funding opportunities. Leary stressed the importance of advocates on both sides being involved in planning and policy processes early on.

“You all have to be at the table,” she said, when decisions and plans for transportation improvements are being discussed.

Panel sessions following Leary’s address touched on how to incorporate technologies and services into existing systems and life skills programming. Representatives from NJTransit, the New Jersey Travel Independence Program (NJTIP), and New Jersey Council on Special Transportation (NJCOST) spoke on accessibility, fixed- and flex-route services, and available handicap-friendly transportation within local communities.

Later in the day, the focus shifted to a need for better understanding: “not everyone with autism is the same,” according to keynote speaker Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., of the McCarton School. He stressed community awareness of ASD when addressing the transportation issue.

The afternoon panels, moderated by Autism Speaks, centered on more specialized services and specific technologies to aid those in need, including using available tools like smart phones to help ease the transportation process for individuals with autism. Christopher Manente (pictured below), senior program coordinator of the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers, stressed collaboration and understanding.

“The most prevalent issue [in transportation] is the lack of education. We really need to get buy-in from the public. People have a view of autism as this horrible, debilitating disorder… and the community needs to understand that that’s just not true.”

Autistic individuals can be an essential part of the community, he said, and shouldn’t be treated as “traveling visitors” on the fringes of society. The “disconnect between legislators, administrators, support staff, and transportation professionals” needs to be resolved through greater understanding of ASD. And while viable transportation options for individuals with ASD are still in their infancy, according to Manente perhaps the answer can be summarized by the adage, “It takes a village.” (April 22, 2011)